The Life and Times of Jayce Ketchum
by MilkywayScribbles
Summary: Jayce Orpheus Ketchum was a not so ordinary high school student. A wealthy resident of Pallet, he aspires to enter into a Pokemon class of the world renowned Prof. Oak as well as achieve high scores on his exams. His rich and lavish world however becomes upside down when he meets a farm girl with big dreams. Looking back at his past, Jayce sees the progression of his changing life.
1. Prologue: My Story

**The Life and Times of Jayce Ketchum**

**Prologue**

_My Story_

My reflection through the murky puddle beneath my feet quickly faded, as more dark clouds dominated the sky. My dreary expression grew more and more unbearable to wear. I was exhausted and deprived of a good night's rest. I had wandered nearly for a week now, with little to know civilization around. I just hoped I would cross the next town soon. It didn't even take a glance down at her, to know Vulpix was not one of the admirers of rain. I urgently demanded her to return back to her poke ball but of course, she refused.

"Get in I said!" I stated firmly, drips of water sliding down my bangs and forehead.

An immediate shake of the head gave me the sign of her refusal. I let out a low groan at her stubborn nature, gathering her into my arms as I hid her underneath my red jacket. I knew water was already starting to seep through my clothes, having Vulpix's dry warm spot not be the same as it once was before. I was in a real dilemma. There were no caves in sight beyond the lonely road that led into a dark like forest. The wind picking up wasn't a good sign either, having myself become unsure about how I was going to get myself out of this mess.

I travelled a little while longer down the abandon forgotten road. The sight of the road and the experience I had put myself into had only made me regret why I ever left in the first place. Soon though, a faint voice in the distance called out to me. My eyes tried seeing past the hazy mist ahead; I listened carefully.

"Hello! Are you lost?" The voice called out.

It seemed like a friendly tone, though I kept my guard up. The last thing I needed was being ambushed, especially with my Pokémon being at a weak and vulnerable state. A bright light emerged from the mist having it be the owner of the voice, carrying a lantern for guidance. He was an older fellow, old but strong he seemed. He gave a calm chuckle as he stared at my soaked and drenched state.

"You look like you could use a good dry cleaning. Come back to my place so you can dry off."

He appeared to have lived up in these parts for a long time, so I didn't hesitate his hospitality of shelter. The small cabin he inhabited was warm and cozy and from what I could tell, other cabins further down from his were up and running, thanks to the sight of chimney smoke. It must have been an old community. That or a bunch of dwelling hermits. He acted like he was knowledgeable about the area, so I couldn't totally suspect him of being trouble. After all, he did offer me a place to rest up.

"So you're a trainer?" He inquired, pouring me a hot brew of tea.

I had already begun stripping my wet jacket off, placing it on a chair to dry. As for Vulpix well, she had already made herself comfortable by the fire. I figured if she didn't feel threatened by this place, then I shouldn't either.

"We don't get many of them around these parts. The mountains and forests around here are too dangerous to go through with all the wild Pokémon. Here, take this. It'll ease your throat."

I graciously took the hot cup and watched the steam rise up, the heat hitting my shivering face. My icy blue eyes stared at the liquid for a moment, as the man took a seat across from me. I then rose my head staring at the blazing flickering flames of the fire; my tone stoic.

"I appreciate the hospitality but I really shouldn't stay."

I didn't know why I was being obstinate. It wasn't unusual for me to be weary and distant with strangers. That and I didn't want to intrude in his home, even with his invite and Vulpix's acceptance of the place.

The man raised his eyebrows. "You don't honestly intend to go back in that storm do you?" He said astonished. "Besides, if you go back out there your Vulpix might be at risk of getting very sick. There's not another Pokémon center here for miles, so I suggest waiting out till the storms blows over. A head of my cabin is a small herb shop you can go to if you need any supplies. It's not much, but the woman who runs it could give you a little medicine to use till you get to a bigger town."

"Um, thanks."

"Say, why was it out in the middle of the storm anyway?" He asked, after taking a sip of his tea. "Did you lose its poke ball or something?"

"No," I began; surprised he even brought up the topic. "She just hates being locked up. She used to tolerate it more when she was younger, but at- a certain point in my life, she was locked up constantly. Now all she wants to do is be out."

The old man could tell it was a sensitive subject.

"I see. You have any poke chow for it?"

I looked down at my bag on the floor, a sigh followed from my mouth.

"Barely any left."

He made a small wince as he rose from his seat, his old body growing soar. This time he was heading to what looked like a pantry. "I'll see how much I have left. It's just me and my Glaceon so, I'm sure I have some to spare."

As he went off, the sight of a picture frame hanging on one of the nearby walls caused me to rise from seat as well. It was like I was in a trance or something, as if the photograph made me gravitate towards it. It was almost like it was beckoning me to adventure closer.

I could hear him rummage through the pantry, making what sounded like unintelligible grumbles as I remained entranced. My chest then grew a sharp ache as I looked at the photo. The older gentleman was now pouring some food for Vulpix, but he soon caught me staring at the picture. I could feel his footsteps behind me, drawing closer. I finally spoke up not turning my head.

"This is your family I presume?"

"Ah, yes." He was now standing next to me. His voice steady and content, yet I could tell it was a soft spot for him.

"My wife and sons. I haven't seen them in nearly forty years. As you can imagine, the boys are older than in this photo. They probably wouldn't even recognize me if I ran into them. But that's what you get when you become a trainer- and a coward in my case."

A sadden frown swept my face as I lowered my head. The man took a seat back down, leaning back still gazing at me.

"You have a family yourself?"

A lump hit my throat. The question I was afraid to answer.

I raised my head back up staring at the photo, looking at it only made me feel like I was stabbing myself repeatedly in every nook and cranny. My blue eyes had becoming glossy and frozen. My focus didn't leave that photo once, as I imagined the people residing in that photo morphing into what I once knew as my very own. The past self I knew, the younger me, the more vulnerable me, the more cautious me, that became a stubborn, reckless, careless, fool after I discovered the ambition and want I could no longer hold back. The sound of the rain crashing down on the cabin triggered my answer as I had a heart wrenching relapse of past events.

"Yes."


	2. Chapter 1: In the Beginning

**The Life and Times of Jayce Ketchum**

**Chapter 1**

**First Year**

**September **

_In the Beginning_

I was a quiet child. I didn't want to do much with the outside world. I was just happy with myself, unlike most children who'd gorge themselves in unnecessary factors of life. The simple things seemed to entertain me into perfect contentment. Still, I had the deepest urge to just be a normal boy (as cliché as it sounds).

I came from a wealthy upbringing, sharing my childhood with two sisters who I had been with since in the womb. Each one of us carried themselves differently, our personalities could never blend as one. The result of that was that we were always conflicting with one another.

If I had any pleasant memories of my early days with my family, they were either erased or were just a figment of my imagination. Either way, I never really felt like I was one of them. Whether it mattered to them or not, the atmosphere of a wealthy society throughout my childhood left a section of my heart untouched. I could have had anything I wanted with no work ethic, but what I wanted most of all became a difficult and never-ending fight against my parents.

The start of standing out among the crowd began with my Mother. She was furious with the so-called 'incompetence' she found in the staff and insisted that home schooling was in the best interest of my education. Private school would have been even better, but she didn't want to waste perfectly good money on her only son. Her daughters on the other hand could go to public school. I on the other hand, was the only heir to Ketchum line (like that even matters in these times), insisting that I would be taught by the finest tutors. So with her illogical persuasion gaining Father's agreement, I became home schooled. But over the years of private violin, piano, guitar lessons (which I had to pry out of her) and high scores on all my exams and papers, I began to seek something more than just acceptable accomplishments. I wanted something worthwhile. I felt like there was something else I was supposed to do. I dreamed of being free; I wanted to partake in something I was actually interested in instead of just being good at.

I had always managed to wander off some days down in the denser, more woodsy areas of Pallet and to my surprise, a Pokémon was always in my preferable vision. They seemed to fascinate me. Their behavior and habits seemed to boggle my mind with thousands of unanswered questions and eventually, my parents soon found out about this hidden intrigue. The innocent curiosity of mine came at a halt, after they after discovered me among a field of migrating Butterfree. An eight year old sneaking out at night, miles away from home was enough to have them get a heart attack, especially over a bunch of migrating bugs. But even after a harsh punishment and secluded time in my room studying endless math equations, I still managed to collect piles of books, hiding them under my floor boards. It went on again without them knowing my secret, but thanks to my father finding one of the floor boards out of place a year later, my unhealthy obsession wasn't cloaked away anymore.

The books had disappeared from my secret hiding place and were put away somewhere in my father's study. It only took me once to find out where he had kept them hostage from my curious fingertips. My father never really paid much attention to me in the first place unless ordered by my Mother, so I went along as if he had been ever so clever as to deceive me. I let this thought of his carry on till I could no longer resist at the age of ten.

What triggered me to bring up such a deadly topic, was the sight of three approved and selected ten-year old children who got to go on their own Pokémon journey. The glimpse of them earning a poke ball from Prof. Oak with a special companion inside made my heart leap. I wanted to adventure out on my own and battle gym leaders and meet new people just like them that it killed me inside to watch.

So when my tenth birthday rolled around the corner in late fall, I was finally able to cave my mother into letting me get a Pokémon for myself. It was tough, but somehow I managed to pry the word yes from her disproving lips. A journey I could not go on. A Pokémon I could have as long as it made me quiet on the subject, and I would stay a well-behaved (most of the time) and studious child. That was the deal she made with me and it was better than no friend what so ever.

I remember she took me on a clear Saturday morning to get my very first Pokemon. A 'well bred' and 'expensive' Pokemon was her idea of a good choice, and she went out of her way to make sure I wasn't getting some creature from the wild. Didn't she realize that's where all creatures originated from? I suppose this shouldn't shock me to such a degree. Anyway, the idea of going out in the wilderness and catching one was out of question. For the longest time, I thought that was the only and right way to get a Pokemon. Apparently, she had another idea.

A friend of my father's from work had a wife who was a breeder and had good quality Pokemon to sell. We traveled to Pewter City to meet the breeder who led us to her business. She had only certain kinds in the market to sell at the time. So whatever was there, I had to pick from that batch. My sisters now wanting one too after finding out I could have one, were able to tag along and choose a friend as well. After all, the three of us shared the same birthday.

It didn't really matter to me which one they picked or how much money my mother spent on theirs. I just wanted to find the perfect companion. At the time the various Pokémon were locked up in small pens to keep them confined and in line. It gave me chills seeing them this way, but were were reassured they were in healthy conditions. At least the breeder was certified.

The kinds of Pokémon around me blew my mind, yet I had not felt a deep and strong connection towards any of them until my eyes ran across what appeared to be a group of small Vulpix playing with one another while their mother rested peacefully. My eyes immediately engaged with the sight of them, rushing over there in utter delight, having my face soon pressed against the play pen, my fingers entwined in the wiring. They scurried about, tackling one another, pulling on each others ears playfully, making small nipping and yelping sounds. My Mother could obviously tell I was infatuated with the scene, having her pull out her wallet flipping through her dollar bills.

A bigger smile grew upon my face as I exchanged in an approving nod from her confirming it was all right. I was having a hard time at first deciding which Vulpix I'd like to take home. They were all so energetic and lively, but the oddball with the blue eyes caught my attention immediately. The breeder confirmed that, that Vulpix was a girl and was one of the better balanced ones. I don't know exactly why I chose a Vulpix, but once she was placed in my arms licking my face, I couldn't help but let out another smile and even a few giggles.

The first five years of having Vulpix were the best yet to come. I had advanced in both my studies and Vulpix's training. Plus, thanks to a few visits from my grandparents they were able convince my parents to end their tirade, and to let me pursue a full team of six Pokémon after seeing how talented I was. My grandfather had always adored Pokémon and had been a huge inspiration and influence in my life of pursuing my dream. I was extremely grateful for their efforts of persuasion and by the time I had reached the age of thirteen, I had completed my entire team. Everything felt complete for once in my life, yet I would soon be pushed into something that I did not want to partake in.

The unthinkable occurred and I couldn't believe my ears after I heard my parents utter those very words. They were to send me back to public school. I would be entering in as a freshman in a three year high school, and they intended for me to finish my education and graduate from there. It was a small school, located on the outskirts of dear old Pallet Town, and would only take in so many kids from Pallet as well as Viridian and even Pewter. It was a fairly new establishment and high expectations for students. It may have been a small school, but it was a school for the _best_ fifteen to eighteen year-old teens in the local area.

I was of course accepted, though I had wished I had failed on the exam so I wouldn't be accepted. Devastated I was to leave my Pokémon at home all day! Sure I was only a kid starting to grow into adulthood, but that still didn't mean I didn't want to train with my Pokémon. They meant everything to me and now having to join my sisters in a public school, not knowing anyone at all was a real downer to say in the simplest term. The whole ordeal of wearing the same uniform every day, arriving to class at a certain time, and socializing was out of the norm for me if you could imagine.

**X**

The drastic change my parents placed upon me caused me to become rebellious the entire summer before entering high school. My Mother wouldn't tolerate any of my nonsense and it seemed there was no escaping my new destiny. A destiny I wasn't ready for nor expected to have. I couldn't stand moping around the house any longer on those last few days of vacation. I had to get out and train for the day. It would be the last bit of sanity I would have for a while.

It was a nice day and I had scored many victories in town with the local trainers who came by to visit their folks, taking a break from their journeys. There weren't too many floating around town, but there were enough to drain Vulpix completely. Tired and sluggish she was, I knew it would be for the best to get her some potion to make her feel more at ease. The local store in town was too far away at the time and I felt she needed some kind of medicine as soon as possible. The last trainer I had challenged, had told me about a little inn located towards the entrance of town. It wasn't very far from me and frankly, I had always wondered what that place was like inside. For as long as I had lived there, I had never walked into that building. So there I was. For the first time I stepped into that inn, I had met the person who would change my life forever.

As I walked in I could tell the place was busy from the tourists and passing trainers. It was summer so it was normal for business's to be flooding with guests. Still, I didn't think I'd meet my perfect match in Pallet's own local inn. I had noticed the woman at the front counter was busy with a costumer, having me wait in line for my request. The woman finally had finished with the costumer ahead of me calling out to get my attention.

"Can I help you with something?" She asked.

"Actually," I began lifting my hands out of my pockets. "I was wondering if I could pick up a potion for my Vulpix?"

The woman peered down from the desk, seeing Vulpix weak and exhausted. She then looked back up at me, with an affirmative nod.

"Certainly, I'll have it ready for you in a moment."

After I paid, I waited for my item to reach me. The place was so hectic with all the hustling I was worried they might have forgotten my order. I waited a few minutes, starting to feel a little impatient, having myself simply look about the room to keep my mind busy. A stock of medicine I saw on a shelf, which was located on one side of the main room. I imagined that was the center area of traveling trainers seeing them lounge about, talking among themselves. My eyes soon however, started to wander off on their own, after a slight glimpse of a girl reaching up on her toes as she restocked various medicines. Her nicely per portioned legs caught my attention as she reached up to the highest shelf possible. From looking at the back of her, she had her rich red-brown hair fixed into two braids while wearing a plaid green t-shirt, a pair of blue denim shorts, and slip on brown shoes. She seemed exquisite in an odd short of way.

I had remained staring at her for a moment, till a container of potion slipped from her delicate fingers, rolling towards my feet. I had now found myself gazing at her face. She had the most gorgeous and deep brown eyes and the sweetest most tender face expression. I felt a sort of unfamiliar tingle that ran into my fingers. I didn't know how to react to this, but to stop the can from rolling with my feet. While the can rolled on the girl chased after it, till her face and my feet met head on. Her fragile hand drew back as she saw the item caught underneath my foot. A small blush mark skimmed across her cheeks as her head rose up, our faces finally meeting one another. She seemed stunned, almost startled as I bent down having both of us now at eye level. I reached from beneath my foot handing her the potion. She could barely speak. No, breath as her eyes kept gazing at me and then at the potion, her hand trembling nervously. Was it something I did? Was it the look on my face? No it wasn't that.

We were both feeling this sort of uncomfortable interaction with one another. Clearly she was embarrassed from dropping the potion I understood that, but why was she so flushed when she had finally reached me? Was it because I was around the same age? Was it that awkward tension young ones feel when trying to comprehend the understanding of being attracted to the opposite sex? Quite possibly yes; at least for me it was. She let out a few attempts of speaking, but nothing formed into an exact word. I soon reacted by opening my mouth as well, till the woman from the desk called out to her.

"Delia, what are you doing? Your mother needs you finish restocking the shelves." The somewhat stern tone, seemed to snap her back into reality.

A quick glance she gave me, before speaking back to the woman. "Sorry, I accidentally dropped one of the potions and well- I got it now."

Delia gently took the can from me, giving a slight nod as a thank you as we rose to our feet. She gazed up at me as faint smile crossed her face, while mine hid beneath my Pokémon League cap.

"Oh, you were the one who ordered a can of potion anyway, weren't you?" The woman at the front desk suddenly remembered.

"Uh, yes ma'am." I responded.

"Go ahead and give him that one Delia. He already paid for it."

Delia gave another nod to the woman. "Yes ma'am. Here you go."

Her hands reached out in front of me, giving me my desired item.

I took it graciously, thanking her.

"Thank you."

As I left the inn, the girl now known to me as Delia remained staring at me as I existed the building.

"He must be another passing trainer." The woman at the front counter muttered.

A sigh seeped out of Delia's mouth. "Yeah," she began her chest rising up and down. "A trainer."

I had not forgotten Delia one single day since then. Her face kept appearing in my thoughts and the idea of going back to the inn just to see her one last time, seemed tempting. I didn't however. Acting like a coward, I simply avoided the inn altogether when I went training. I couldn't exactly put my finger on it as to why I did that, but it wasn't because I didn't want to get to know her. Maybe it was because the incident between us was more of a coincidence than destiny at the time. At first, going back to see her was not that important so I just shrugged it off. Little did I know we would cross paths again.

**X**

The first day of school for me was a real mess. In any stereotypical situation of a first day of school incident, I woke up in a frenzy. My alarm clock going off at the wrong time, having me possibly being tardy. My sisters of course, had already gone off to school. I frantically raced to my closet, slipping on my new uniform followed by quickly brushing my teeth, putting on my shoes and then grabbing my book bag. I had barely managed to make it out the front door looking somewhat decent.

As I made my way down the driveway to reach my bike, I had spotted Vulpix giving me a sadden expression threw my bedroom window. I looked up, watching her paw at the glass. I shook my head.

"No girl, you stay here." I stated, pulling my bike out for me to step on. "I'll be home soon. I promise."

I couldn't look at her for another second because only guilt of leaving her would stay in my mind.

I scurried out as fast as my feet could carry me, soaring down the long steep hill. My pedaling grew faster over time, as I panted heavily; overly exaggerated thoughts of what would occur once I arrived playing through my head.

"Oh man," I said aloud to myself my hands slipping on the handle bars.

I eventually arrived in the main section of Pallet's neighborhood where as to I, lived more towards the mountains. I was then stupefied to see another student attending the same school late as well. I could only see her from a faint distance a few houses down on a porch, but I recognized her uniform immediately. It was the same as my sisters and she appeared around our age range too. In a flash, I almost believed it be the girl from the inn. But before I could get a closer look, I got distracted by the sight of the famous Oak Laboratory. My hopes of being accepted into his upcoming Pokémon class were higher than ever before. I just didn't expect the man I had most admired was to stop me in my tracks.

"Excuse me young man," the voice called out abruptly, "I don't mean to stop you from where you are heading, but would you mind catching that Charmander for me? It has a mind of its own. Don't worry, it won't harm you I'm sure of it."

I was bewildered to find Prof. Oak speaking directly at me. I froze nervously, taken back that he was asking me of all people to do his biding at a time like this. Yet I couldn't refuse. What would happen if I did get accepted? I would be remembered as being the rude arrogant young man who didn't help the wise and great Prof. Oak of Pallet. That would not go over well. Though, I don't think the school would care if my excuse for being late was helping a citizen in need, even if it was Prof. Oak.

"Um, yes sir." I answered, placing my bike to the side.

Prof. Oak smiled warmly, remaining by his front door. "Thank you young man. I greatly appreciate it."

I dashed over snatching the playful Charmander up into my arms, quickly going up the steps.

"Here sir," I said formally, handing the small fire-type creature to him.

"Thanks again," Prof. Oak replied returning it to its poke ball. "I had my new starters lose in the house, but somehow this one escaped out the front window."

"I see." I answered, stepping down the stairs. "Well glad I could help."

He gave a nod to me in return as I raced back to my bike. He soon placed his arms around his back watching me pedal away, but then his eyes looked forward watching another body in the distance; the same person I had noticed earlier. This person was now leaving their front porch, stepping onto their bike.

"Now they should meet." He said with another faint grin of assurance.

**X**

I glanced at my wrist watch, finding I had only a limited amount of time before I would be marked as absent. The school was now right in front of me, but I would have to climb a steep hill just to reach the front door. I hoped my legs could move as fast as my mind at this point.

"Just a little further," I thought as I swung my bike aside a railing, lining it up with the other student's bikes.

As I was hooking it up to the railing I saw a similar bike. A faded light blue bike that had belonged to the stranger ahead of me. Whoever this girl was, she couldn't be too far ahead of me now.

"I wonder if that's her?" I thought again grabbing my book bag before dashing up the long vigorous hill.

Halfway up the hill I could finally make out her full figure. She was now only a few feet ahead of me and immediately froze after hearing my footsteps behind her. I stopped moving after a few more steps, gazing at the back of her head. My eyes widened, my heart pounding, as she slowly turned around; her braids flying briskly in the air. The cherry blossom petals glided passed her ever so perfectly, making it more like a dream than a reality. As she turned to face me her gentle, warm brown eyes lightened up. A broad and defiant grin protruded from her lips. I was speechless. For once I was lost for words. The person who was now standing in front of me, was a girl I had barely met just a week ago. This was more than some coincidence. Meeting this one person in such a sheer coincidence soon changed my perspective on life forever.

"Hi," she said, her voice slightly raised.

I gave a flustered look in return, a lump resided in my throat.

"Hi."

"You're the-" she began stuttering, "the trainer from the inn, aren't you?"

"You remember me?"

"Your face is one that can't be easily forgotten."

"I think I'll take that as a compliment."

Her hand brushed back a loose strand of hair, her eyelashes fluttering.

"I'm guessing you woke up late too? I have a bad habit about sleeping in. _Especially_ when I work the day before."

"Um yes, I woke up a little late- I should probably get going-"

"I'll walk with you. If you don't mind that is?"

"I suppose if you insist."

I immediately shoved my hands into my pockets uncomfortably as I strolled past her. She quickly moved ahead of me walking backwards, continuously talking to me as if I had invited her to. I felt a sort of weird feeling rushing through my body. I mean, I was giving off the impression that I was aloof (or at least I thought) hardly uttering a single word. So if this was the circumstance, why in the world was she giving me her full attention? I dared to look up her occasionally, finding her chatting away. But not for one second did the word annoying cross my mind.

Her soft and positive personality gave a more overly friendly vibe. Her loving smile and her angelic face made me gulp nervously, my body tingling. I didn't know what to make of the situation. Couldn't she tell that I was _obviously_ not in the mood to talk? Or maybe she honestly didn't care, or maybe she was just not aware? Either way, I couldn't help but gaze at her restlessly.

The way she swiftly walked, her legs moving, her arms swaying, her red scarf blowing in the wind, her glowing face, her luxurious red-brown hair, and that award-winning grin drove me mad. I couldn't help but stare. I felt paralyzed, helpless, like I was stunned. Like for once I didn't know what to do or what to make of the situation. I had never met anyone so- benevolent; or anyone who willingly gave me so much attention.

That whole time it took us to reach the school, I had no idea what had just actually happened. Whatever it was, I liked it. A lot. And that part scared me most of all.

I did have the decency however, to open the door for her. A quiet thank you she gave me as we walked in, having us going our separate ways was now crossing my mind. Oddly enough however, we were heading in the same direction. I couldn't help but be a little paranoid seeing that she was still by my side, gazing at her student guide that she had pulled from her bag. The same action I had committed.

"We aren't really in the same home room are we?" I thought, my eyebrows rising.

The hall we were now in held only a few rooms. The possibilities of us being in the same class dwindled, till I felt her hand as we reached for the same door knob. I pulled away shyly, having her give a weak and nervous grin in return. I looked away at her, my cheeks flushed in embarrassment, as a small laugh came from her mouth. I could tell by her body language now, that she was a little nervous. I wouldn't have known that by the way she was acting earlier.

"I guess I should have introduced myself." She said timidly rubbing the back of her head. She then flew her hand out in front of me formally.

I wasn't ready for that either.

"My name's Delia Parker. And yours?"

"Delia Parker..." I thought, her name repeating in my head.

I then apprehensively took her hand into mine. Her delicate and smooth skin almost made me choke.

"Jayce Ketchum."

Her eyes widened, but then soon relaxed again. I wondered what that was all about.

"Jayce Ketchum…" Delia said, her eyes fluttering up at me.

I then quickly released my hands from hers, going for the door knob again. The awkward tension between us made me only want to get into the classroom and forget what just happened. What was wrong with me? I had never felt this way around anyone before. And why was I being so tense, a bundle of nerves? Could it be I was finally experiencing a new feeling?

I soon opened the door for us, letting her enter in first as she gave a slight polite nod indicating a thank you on her behalf. As I shut the door behind us, all the other students turned around in their seats staring at us shooting mixed looks.

Delia gave a weak grin as I remained frowning.

"Mr. Ketchum and Miss Parker so nice for you to join us. We were just about finished with our meeting before heading off to first period." Our home room teacher Mrs. Bullmen said plainly.

The two open seats left were far from each other. My seat was the second seat from the back which had an awesome view from outside. The perfect view to have a relaxing day-dream. As for Delia, she sat on the other side against the wall and it was more towards the front of the classroom.

As we took our seats however, I couldn't help but notice that the students were whispering about why Delia and I were apparently late _together_. Then it became clear to me that some of my classmates were from the same junior high as Delia. And Chad Oak made it clear about his opinion on Delia as well.

**X**

"Delia Parker? Why are you so interested in her?" Chad questioned, shoving his face full of rice.

I didn't really give a damn and still don't about what Chad Oak thought or said. But his never-ending ranting and illogical explanations in almost all of my classes left me no choice but to listen.

"I mean you hardly know her Jay, so why the sudden interest?" Sean asked.

Chad Oak was into the two greatest v words according to teenage males. Video games and vaginas. His personality had not changed much since we were kids and at the age of seven to eleven we were the best of buds. Then for some reason, I stopped hanging out with him. Maybe it was because in junior high he started hitting on my sisters. Well, and the fact that my parents refrained me from speaking to him.

It was truly ironic to have Sean Conner introduce me to him all over again during the first week too. And of course he remembered me vividly. I was the boy who had helped him construct his tree house, reminding me of us climbing trees and running through town like a bunch of wild Mankey. I even remember all the bruises and scratches I formed on my elbows and knees from those incidents. How could Prof. Oak's only son become his polar opposite? The whole thing was just completely unbelievable.

Sean Conner was another acquaintance I made on the first day. He was a pleasant person to talk too. Simple minded he seemed, but cooperative. Though why he and Chad were friends I would never understand.

"It's not like you to go and chase after some girl. Especially a girl your _mother_ wouldn't approve off." Chad carried on. "If you wanna have a little insight on Parker, her family runs the only farm in Pallet. I mean you can buy their Miltank milk down at Greta's grocery store. Knowing them, it was probably just squeezed out of the Miltank's udders. That's how they bring home the bacon."

I rolled my eyes, my attention diverting over to Delia who was of course by herself reading a book of some sort.

"Sounds like you've known her for a good long while." Sean reasoned.

"I've known Delia Parker since we were in diapers."

A disturbing image of Chad crossed my mind. My thoughts had officially been tainted.

"Her Dad supplies certain things for my Dad," he carried on, waving his fork back and forth in the air, "and he does the same back. They've had this exchange of theirs going on for as long as I can remember. Delia's old man is in charge of their family farm and has a couple of hand workers. Her mom is basically a house wife, but does own the inn here for travelers coming into Pallet. Delia's relatives play a big part with making the town function. Her uncle even owns the Pancake House here too."

"So what you're saying is Delia's family is deeply rooted in Pallet?"

"Exactly my clever friend."

I looked back down at my lunch, my eyebrows lowered with confusion.

"But my father was from here and I've been in Pallet my whole life so..."

"So what?" Chad asked, his mouth stuffed with another helping of food.

"Why is it that I hardly know of her?"

**X**

I took my investigation of Delia Parker to a whole new level. I mean, I didn't intend to follow her but where ever I went, she'd appeared. I found her countless times in the library checking out various books and through my research, it seemed she had an appeal on how to train grass and bug Pokemon as well as books on gardening. The most memorable time was when I caught sight of her through a book shelf. As I pulled out a book I spotted her on the other side standing there, skimming through the contents. I gulped, my heart racing as I boldly took a closer peak, catching a glimpse on the book she was looking at.

"Wonder if she's a grass trainer?" I thought curiously, but soon fled slipping the book back into its proper place, as she glanced over her shoulder.

Delia's eyes widened as if she noticed I was watching her. But she simply shrugged it off, going back to reading. It was a close one to say least!

I then proceeded by watching her check out the book from the corner of my eye. She had this essence about her. The librarian seemed taken with her as well as all the teachers from her gracious and well behaved demeanor. Her polite and disciplined personality seemed ideal for an upstanding woman. But if she was this way with her mentors and so talkative with me, then why was she so distant from everyone else?

Occasionally I would find her gazing at me for a short period of time in passing. But every time I looked back, she would slowly turn her head away. My eyes softened every time I looked at her, my lonely heart had melted that time she spoke to me. But why? Was I somehow opening her up and was she softening me?

As the next week carried on that month, I found it very hard to just simply forget all about Delia Parker. She was a distinctive face in the crowd.

**X**

I was eating my lunch with Chad and Sean on another fine afternoon, having the usual conversation carry on about how one of us did on the English test, and the question of did you take a good look at Ms. Bonita today? Chad of course brought it up.

I could have really cared less as to how one of our teacher's looked. Young and attractive or not, the only thing on my mind was Delia and I honestly couldn't take anymore of his rambling. I was tired of examining her from a distance. It was time for me to dare I say, 'man up' and actually speak to her face to face.

"So yeah, the guys rips my test out of my hand like I was cheating or somethin' and then-" Chad stopped in the middle of his sentence as I rose from my seat.

I didn't care to explain where I was heading off to, only praying they wouldn't tag along.

"Wonder where he's off too?" Sean said plainly, blinking.

Chad folded his arms, pouting like a child. "And I was getting to the best part too."

**X**

It didn't take me long to figure out where Delia was. It wasn't a real surprise find her in the library. I tended to notice that was where she'd adventure off to after she'd finished her meal. She was at a table reading as usual, having me lurk behind a bookcase. I felt like a real idiot. And a creeper. Why was I finding it so difficult to walk up to her and utter the word hello. _At least a_ hello. My hand met my face in a matter of seconds, shaking my head repeatedly feeling like I was out of sink. I could be charming and have a sense of humor with girls, I could. But for some reason, Delia Parker would always make me choke. Just by looking at her I swore my heart would stop beating.

"No, you've got to do this. No more hiding. Just go and have a casual non-political or religious conversation with her. Dammit I'm rambling again!" I thought to myself, frustrated.

Peaking around the corner once more did me know good either.

"I can't do this. I'll look like a total moron..."

Another lump resided in my throat and to make matters words, a loud and obnoxious voice blurted right into my ear.

"Hey there Jayceeeeee-" Chad said teasingly, as he drown my name on having him snicker afterwards.

"How long have you been following me?" I asked peeved.

"Not too long." He remarked. "Aw, I see you still got an eye out for her you devil!"

"Knock it off and go away. I don't need your taunting."

"Well I don't think stalking her will do you any could." Chad replied, nudging my ribcage with his elbow. "Just go talk to her for crying out loud!"

"Will you two just stay out of this!" I hissed, my fists tight and sweaty. "Like either of you are experienced with these sort of things."

"I may not have had a girlfriend before," Sean began to reason calmly, "or have ever attempted for that matter, but I believe an appropriate hello will do you some good."

"Or you could do some dance and she'll just offer you her hindquarters."

A childish grin grew Chad's face. He couldn't help but laugh at his own juvenile jokes. Obviously, this conversation was going _way _to far.

"You're the prime example of the primitive man." I rebutted, my mouth forming a deep frown. "And I know how to approach her it's just- I get all funny when I'm around her."

Chad let out a cackle while throwing his arm around my shoulder, giving me another factious smile.

"The cynical, witty, aloof Jayce Ketchum can't handle a little conversation with some farm girl?"

"Yet you can talk to Chad and retort something back to him?" Sean added, sighing.

"Hey!"

My nerves were getting the best of me so apprehensively, I tried excusing myself from the situation.

"I can't do it. Let's just go back to home room."

A quick tug on the arm ended my escape.

"No way dude!" Chad stated, his fingers digging into my jacket. "This is your perfect opportunity to face your fear!"

Releasing me from his grip, I soon felt Chad's and Sean's hands pushing against my back.

"Go! Go!"

The force of their hands sent me a few feet ahead, while the rest of the way I walked up to Delia.

"Uh, hey." I managed to utter.

"Oh, hi Jayce."

"You can call me Jay." I continued flustered rubbing the back of my head. "I mean- I prefer it if people would call me that."

Delia simply shrugged in return. "Oh, okay. I'm fine with still being called Delia... That was supposed to be funny."

I bit my lip followed by an anxious laugh, rather than me actually finding her humor genuinely amusing.

"Right." I answered fidgety. "Um- are you- I mean we don't have too-"

"Are you feeling all right? You look kind of pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just wondering if you'd like to-"

By the time I managed to form a real sentence, the bell had rung indicating lunch had ended. My heart sank.

"Oh, already?" Delia said astonished. "Sorry but I better head off. Yesterday I was late for fifth period and I can't be tardy again. We'll talk more soon if you'd like."

I lowered my head in defeat, cursing to myself. "Sure. Bye, Delia."

"Bye, Jay."

I remained in that state till I heard Sean and Chad's footsteps behind me.

"So what did she say?" Chad asked eagerly.

"She said she couldn't afford being late to class again." I grumbled taking my leave as well.

Sean and Chad soon exchanged glances, followed by Sean shrugging with a half smile.

"At least she's punctual."

Chad gave a few blinks in return to our friend's comment. "I don't even know what that means."

Sean smacked his forehead, shaking his head as he letting out a low huff. Chad simply ignored his reaction, cuffing his hands around his mouth, yelling out to me. His words were faint as I began to open the library door to leave.

"Hey don't forget we're heading to my house after school!"

"Sshh!"

The sudden hiss drew his attention over to the crabby, bitter old librarian. He wrinkled his nose back at her, walking off with his nose up in the air.

"How am I supposed to remember the library rules?" He went on grumbling.

Sean let out another sigh, apologizing to the woman for his rude behavior, however it wasn't enough to please the testy woman.

**X**

By the end of the school day I couldn't help but bemoan. I was so disappointed with myself, having my feet scuffing against the sidewalk kicking any pebbles that laid about. My head hung low, a couple of sighs here and there. All I had to do was ask her if she'd like to have lunch with me or ask her if she was busy Saturday, but instead I was too stunned to even think of the word hello?! What the hell was wrong with me? I am never lost for words and Delia Parker somehow managed to break that cycle. But why? Why did my mind blank every time she spoke to me? It would only be a matter of time before I actually realized the truth.

A sudden voice in the distance stuck out among the loud crowd. I saw someone make there way through the massive amount of chattering students. Then I recognized who it was.

"Hey there stranger!"

My eyebrows rose. "Oh, hi Delia."

"You walking home?" She asked cocking her head to the side. "I noticed you didn't have your bike today."

"Uh- yeah."

Here was my chance! My chance to finally make up for my previous failure!

"I like to rotate walking and riding once in a while." I explained, clearing my throat.

"Me too." Now I noticed she was biting her lip. Since when was she hesitant? "Say, do- do you want to come over to my house? I know it's sort of last minute, but earlier you wanted to talk and I thought maybe we could get to know each other a little better and all so I thought-"

"Sure, I'd like that."

Delia's eye widened, her eyebrows arched. "You don't have to get home soon or wait for your friends?"

I had intended to meet up with Chad after school. He and my sisters were going to head over to the lab for reasons he didn't explain in detail. Apparently, his dad had something to show us.

I glanced behind my shoulder gazing at the school. I know he said he would wait for me out in the front, but refusing the chance to be with Delia was out of the question. If I had told her no, the probability of her inviting me over again was slim. I had to take the chance, even if Chad and my sisters killed me for it.

"No. Go ahead and lead the way."

A broad grin grew from the corner of her lips as we casually traveled down the hill.

I felt like I was finally making headway, but the tense and irritable feelings I caused Chad and my sisters to have was surely unbearable. Well, at least for Annie that is.

Towards the front doors of the school, Annie stood with her hands on her hips, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.

"Where the hell is he?" She groaned, blowing a lose bang of her blonde hair away from her eyes. "He was supposed to meet up with us ten minutes ago! Didn't you tell him we were hanging out at the lab?"

Chad's posture was relaxed, his body leaning against the building. "Yeah and he said he could make it." He responded looking up at the clouds. "I don't know what's taking him so long. For all I know, he's probably already heading over there. Let's just go."

As he shifted his body off the building wall and as Annie reached for her bag on the cement, Zelda's eyes were fixated on the path that led away from the school. Her long black hair flowed in the wind.

"I know where he's gone."

"Where Zel?" Annie questioned curiously.

A slight turn of the head was all they could see of her face. Chad looked at her oddly as she finally spoke.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

**X**

"So you've lived in Pallet your whole life too? When I first saw you I thought you were a traveling trainer."

Delia had taken me to her house which was half the size of mine. The house was painted a rustic red color with a worn out, old wooden porch and a white picket fence with the paint beginning to chip off. The inside was also very... quaint. When you first walked in, there was a living room with one small green couch and a seventy's patterned chair accompanied by a coffee table. You could tell by the time her parents finished decorating their house, Delia had been born and the seventy's were ending. They were at least a ten years or more behind the modern-day living style. But by the looks of their fuzzy outdated cypress algae carpet and the egg yolk paint on the kitchen walls, it was obvious to me that they couldn't afford to redecorate even if they wanted too.

I felt like a stuck up fool. I had every lavish thing I desired, and here were hardworking people trying to get by. These were the types of people I wanted to admire.

A couple of photos were scattered about on the living room walls which contained Delia's family. I didn't know exactly who was who, but by the looks of it she lived with her parents and had once lived with an older woman. Most likely her big sister.

We were now however in Delia's kitchen. She had soon found a note on the counter left by her mother to start dinner. It didn't take her long for her to lay her school bag down, change into her home clothes, find her apron and start right in. Most of the time when I got home I crashed. Delia on the other hand, was always on the move. She had began to pull a soup pot out, scrambling back and forth in the refrigerator for her ingredients. I simply watched, leaning on the counter sharing casual conversation with her. Who knew this girl could multitask so well?

"Only in my dreams." I finally answered, watching her drop cut up vegetables into the broth. "My parents aren't partial to the idea of me going off on a journey."

"Mine aren't exactly to crazed about the idea either." She replied placing the cutting board into the sink. "They've let me catch Pokemon to raise though."

"Me too. I started creating my team when I was ten. I just completed it about two years ago."

"No way," she said amazed reaching up for some spices in a cabinet. "I just completed my team a few months back! Guess we both are pretty passionate about Pokémon."

"Isn't everybody nowadays?"

Delia had now placed a lid on the pot turning down the burner, letting the soup cook for a certain amount of time.

"Jay?"

"Hmm?"

"If you don't mind me asking," she began, moving away from the stove. She was now across from me, placing her elbows on the counter just like I had. "Why- why do you always keep to yourself? Or when you are with someone, you tend to zone out when they talk to you. Like you're not interested or something."

I didn't respond, not really knowing how to answer. What would I honestly say? That she puts me in a trance every time she was present? That surely wouldn't go over well.

"I've noticed you in the library." Delia went on. "You seem to look at me a lot."

I groaned, embarrassed. "Well, it's not like you're really social either."

"That's because I don't need a bunch of people to feel important." She answered firmly. "I like just learning about Pokémon in my spare time. You're actually the first person to have really drawn in my interest if you care to know. Guess it was a connect we had."

My eyes diverted away from hers quickly. She then leaned her head in closer concerned she had said something to upset me. I figured I should say something in return to break the tension.

"I haven't forgotten about you since the day we met at that inn." I said calmly and eloquently.

Delia gave a soft gasp, but a noticeable one at that.

"That's why I wanted to talk to you." I continued, peering up at her slightly. "I figured if I kept running into you, than our passing's were more than just a coincidence."

"Strange, I felt the same way too." She said gently, another smile creeping from her lips. "To be honest I've- I've never felt like this towards- anyone. So um-"

"So um what?" I said, my heart racing.

Was she going to say what I thought was about to pour out of her mouth? Could this be love? I prepared myself as I gazed at her, now uneasy eyes.

"Does that make us- friends?"

My heart stopped beating for a moment. I felt breathless for a second. Almost stupid actually. I should have known she wasn't going to say anything to that extreme. I composed myself once more, answering as if I had no anticipation.

"I suppose. I mean you invited me over, we're hanging out, we seem to be able to have a relevant conversation on various topics-"

"But if you're a Ketchum and you've been here your whole life, then you must be Emily and Richard's son."

At that moment I was dumbfounded.

"You know my parents? How?"

"Word travels fast down in the main part of town." Delia elucidated. "Besides, your parents are well-known for their wealth. People talk about them a lot."

"Negative things I presume?"

"No, that's not what I was trying to say." She answered shaking her head, as if I had taken that offensively. "It's just- I've heard from your sisters-"

"My sisters?"

Now this was getting too weird. Delia knew about Annie and Zelda too? How could she know so much of me, while I knew little of her? I suppose being kept away in my house only adventuring out into the dense forest would separate me from the main population of town.

"Yes." She replied with a nod. "I had no idea they had a brother though. They spoke very little of you. I also have been told that your parents highly value your education and social upbringing. So being with me would only make things tough for you-"

I scoffed rolling my eyes in response. This whole thing was unbelievable. Not to mention, Delia was actually concerned about what my parents thought.

"You're seriously worried about my parents finding out that we're establishing a friendship? It's not like we're dating."

"So- you're saying it's okay for us to become friends?"

"Of course." I replied reassuringly. "I don't need their approval and neither do you. I'm acquainted with Chad Oak, so what could be worse than that?"

"I guess you're right!" She agreed, with a good laugh afterwards. "If you were really wondering why I am alone, it's because when we were being accepted into high schools, all my friends went to the local school in Viridian. I figured I'd go there too, but when I found out I got accepted into our school I couldn't refuse the opportunity. The exam was pretty hard for me. I studied all day and night to pass that test."

I nodded. "I know the feeling."

"I also thought it would be better for me to attend this school because it's closer to home and I worked really hard to deserve those scores. Most of the time," she explained, "I don't get such high scores. I thought I could manage without many friends and I have, but our sudden meetings seemed to mean something to me. I couldn't resist but to ask you to spend time with me. I- I like you Jay."

She couldn't help but show another smile across her face. Her cheeks faintly turned pink, her eyes glowing ever so brightly.

"You're much more levelheaded than most of the boys our age. I liked that you're- mature and intellectual. You really impress our instructor in literature class."

She really knew how to flatter people. When she spoke those words to me though, it was more than just a compliment. It truly felt sincere.

"And you're not like any girl I've ever met."

"Huh?"

"You're pretty mature for your age yourself." I said. "I mean just look at you. You read, you don't gossip, you study fairly well, you're awfully polite, you can hold a job, you help your parents tremendously more than I ever have, you raise your own Pokémon and you can cook. I consider those to be good qualities that a friend should have."

Delia's eyebrows rose up in great height, as her body moved from her slouched stance.

"So you have stalked me!" She exclaimed playfully, pointing her index finger at my face.

"What? No!" I cried, pushing her hand away. "I just observe a lot okay!?"

"I was only joking," she giggled placing a hand over her mouth to contain her bursts of laughter. "I know what you mean."

**X  
**

An hour had passed since we arrived, and the time we shared was well spent on the living room sofa. We talked about gym class to the silly town meetings held every month. Apparently, Delia was a stellar runner and a plant expert. I was also a fast runner, but not much of an authoritative on plants. Still, she seemed to fascinate me with the knowledge she had gained from everyday tools. Delia may not have been a scholar, but she sure could teach you about surviving off of a simple garden. Conjointly, her personality was infectious. I found myself getting lost in her beautiful rich brown eyes and her sweet innocent laughter seemed to make me feel a rush of joy. If Delia could be described in a few choice words, it would be an orb of light. In a personality perspective, we were not much of counterparts so the question of why she was so infatuated with me, stumped my thoughts for the longest time.

"Your Eevee has a really soft and shiny coat," I complimented, stroking its fluffy, silky fur. "You must feed it well."

"Thanks. My Dad makes sure our Pokémon always have good food." Delia stated. "We have two Jolteons we use to help herd our Mareep. My Eevee is their baby, so it's super important he's fed well."

A sound at the door soon ended our little conversation. We watched the doorknob twist, having the door swing open. A man stood there scuffing his shoes on the mat, before looking up at us.

"Oh look whose here!" Delia said excitedly. "You can meet my Dad!"

My eyes widened immensely. "Your father?"

The indication of what her father was like was given away thanks to Delia's Eevee, who scurried up the staircases and into Delia's bedroom. That was not a good sign on my behalf.

"Daddy, I want you to meet someone!"

The man rose his head and it didn't take too long before he formed a huge frown and his eyebrows narrowed. Shutting the door behind him, I felt the intensity of his eyes piercing through me.

"Delia," his voice gruff and firm, as he shot me another dirty look. He incontestably didn't like the sight of me sitting on his sofa right next to his daughter. "What have I told you about bringing strangers into the house? _Especially_ boys."

"Daddy he's not a stranger," Delia explained, rising from her seat. "He's a friend of mine from school. Jay," she went on turning towards me, "this is my dad Ernest. Dad, this is Jayce Ketchum. He's Emily and Richard's son."

"Humph," he grumbled, folding his arms giving me a stern look. "Never thought I'd ever have a Ketchum step foot on my property. Say boy isn't Jayce a girl's name anyway?"

"It's a boy's name too." I argued back composedly.

"Well apparently so." He responded. "Now why don't you head on home, I need Delia to help me with a couple of chores anyway."

I glanced up at Delia as I rose from my comfortable seat. I gave a slight nod understanding his orders. Ernest Parker wasn't too fond of any boy coming near his daughter and from then on, he had a vendetta against me.

"Simple minded brute..." I thought to myself.

As I tried walking past Delia, she stepped in front of me approaching her father.

"Daddy you told me that I had finished all my chores for the week!" She protested. "Besides, Jay just got here. I thought he could maybe stay for dinner."

"Stay for dinner?" Ernest asked incredulously. "At _my_ table?"

As if that was even a 'question' someone should ask.

Delia rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Dad-"

Then another person appeared through the doorway. A woman who from what I could tell from the pictures earlier, was Delia's mother.

"I'm home," the woman carrying a grocery bag informed, but was shocked to find her daughter and husband in the midst of an argument in front of a stranger. "Oh, my! Will you two please stop arguing, we have a guest! Who is he by the way?"

Ernest groaned, turning his attention to his wife. "He's some boy Delia hauled home and now she wants him to have dinner with us! I told ya high school would throw off her perspective!"

Delia took a step in front of her father, now facing her mother directly.

"Mom he's just a friend honestly-"

"Ernest please, you're overreacting not to mention you are only embarrassing yourself." His wife retorted, having him mumble something to himself. "Sorry for my husband's rude introduction. I'm Delia's mother Leah, and you are?"

"Jayce Ketchum ma'am." I answered, shaking her hand formally. "Uh, nice to meet you."

"Well you sure are gentlemen." She said with a genuine smile. "Now that I think about it, are you the same Jayce from the inn?"

I placed my hands in my jacket pockets. "Guess my name travels around fast."

"Oh so it is you!" Leah exclaimed enthusiastically. "Delia hasn't stopped talking about you since you two met at our inn-"

"Mom!" Delia's face was now flushed, her fists tightening from the awkward situation.

A glimpse of her daughter's red face made her realize what she had done. "Oh, I've said too much. If you'd like to stay for dinner Jayce you're more than welcome too."

"Uh, thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Parker," I said cordially, looking from the corner of my eye to find Delia still blushing madly and her father looking like he was about to pull out his shot-gun. It was then that I decided to make my exit. "But I probably should get going. I can't stay for too long or my parents will send out a search squad."

"Was that a joke?" Ernest asked harshly.

"Yes and no."

He probably thought I was being a real smart ass, but what I said was on the lines of actually occurring. If he _really _knew my parents instead of just hearing rumors about them, then he'd know what I was talking about.

"I understand. We don't like having Delia out too late either, but you're always welcome to visit." Leah responded. "You can visit Delia anytime you'd like."

"Thank you again."

"Go ahead and show him out Delia."

Delia gave a nod to her mom as we walked out the front door. Ernest quickly made his way over there, till a firm grip clamped onto his arm. He looked over his shoulder, surprised to find his wife stopping him in his tracks.

"Leah-" he started irritated.

"Ernest enough with the tantrum." She ordered, her tone strong and dominate.

Outside, Delia and I had not left the front porch. She still seemed flustered from her parents display of embarrassment and if I didn't make a big deal out of it, I figured it'd calm her down. I wanted to tell her how badly that was nothing compared to my parents.

"Sorry about my folks." She apologized, her arms wrapped behind her back shyly. "Well at least my Dad. He's just a little over protective sometimes because I'm his baby girl. He gets all crazy when a boy's around. A boy I like that is."

"I can see that." I answered, still a little offended by his sudden disapproval. I mean, the guy hardly let me utter a single word and he already made a judgment on who I was as a person! I couldn't let her see my anger on the matter though. "It's okay, no worries. I have my share of issues with my parents too."

"Right. So I'll see you later?"

"Yeah. Definitely. I- I'd definitely like to see you soon."

"Maybe we could start having lunch together- at school."

I gave a small smile in agreement. "Yeah. Sounds great."

"So I'll see you at lunch. Tomorrow?"

"I'll be there. I'll save a couple of seats for us in home room."

"Okay. Bye Jay." She waved at me warmly as I went down the porch steps.

I turned back at her one more time. The way the orange and yellow colors from the sunset of that late summer, seemed to bask splendidly with her beauty was absolutely breathtaking.

"Bye Delia."

I then watched her enter into her house, having me be left with odd feelings. My long walk home only made me contemplate on our newly founded friendship. Was it out of just liking someone for who they were or was it deeper than that? Was it more on the lines of a sincere attachment? It's still hard for me to explain. At that very moment however, I felt this weird sensation to touch her soft hair. But I knew it couldn't be. Or could it?

**X**

**_Preview:_**

Zelda: "In the next chapter of the Life and Times of Jayce Ketchum, Jay and Delia finally begin to see their friendship progress."

Chad: "But will Annie's sudden disapproval towards Delia change Jay's mind?"

Zelda: "And will Jay be accepted into the infamous Prof. Oak's Pokemon class?"

Chad: "You'll just have to read too find out! Next Time: _It's a__ Date_!"

Zelda: "Read it so you won't miss a thing."

**X**

**_Author's Note: _  
**

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who made it through this long and lengthy chapter. I appreciate the time you took out of your day to read this and I hope you all enjoyed it!

Okay, so you're all probably wondering how this concept really came about. Well for the longest time, I had always wondered has to who Ash's father was, what he was like, what he looked like, where he was, what his relationship with Delia was, etc. So I decided to do a little investigating and found out a couple of things. According to a storyboard artist from the Pokemon series, Ash's father is a trainer on his own Pokemon journey. So knowing that I could practically make up my own character and all other suspicions were now unlikely, I decided to dig a little deeper before making my story. After more research I came across an original book made in Japan called Pocket Monsters: The Animation. It was written by one of the original writers, Shudou Takeshi and he developed a little tale on Delia and Ash  
's dad. I didn't take all his concepts considering it really wasn't incorporated in the series, but I did take the idea of Delia and his dad meeting at her mother's inn. Them meeting there was something he invented. However, all the other things I have written/will write are my owns interpretation of the matter. This just gave me a head start on their meeting. In that instance however, Ash's dad was already a trainer on his own journey, while I made Jay a trainer still at home. There's a lot more to it, but that's all I really care to explain. Basically, I got my start on looking up factual information.

Now I will share some things with you about the story. When I started to develop this chapter, it had been rewritten _three_ times. I guess third times the charm really is true, since I think I really nailed it this time. I also hope this gives you some insight to see how the main characters will be perceived through the progression of the story, and I hope my readers will be intrigued. Trust me, it gets good later on. It's more than just a romance. There are several twists and turns within the Pokemon world itself as well as some conflict Jayce faces with his family and friends. The occurrences are truly unexpected and electrifying dare I say. **Prepare yourselves. **

Also the sudden distinction between Prof. Oak and Chad was done on purpose. I wanted someone to be the comic-relief and since I'm a humorous person, I wanted to throw in a touch of comedy, even if it's more on the lines of guy humor. They're not jokes I'd actually say, but at least it might give people a good laugh. Furthermore, you'll learn later on as to why he behaves in such an unruly manner and it gives a good excuse for Prof. Oak to interact with the characters. Plus, it shows what Gary's dad is like. Sean Conner will also develop. But slowly. As for Annie and Zelda well, you'll get a better taste of Jay's sisters in the next chapter. **  
**

Guess I'll be signing out, but thanks again for reading the first chapter! Be on the look out for more!


	3. Chapter 2: It's a Date

**The Life and Times of Jayce Ketchum**

**Chapter 2  
**

**First Year**

_It's a Date_

I took my time getting back home. The little amount of discussion I shared with my family would be sufficient enough for my satisfaction.

Walking up to the dark custom-made gates resting in front of my house with a big sign of black words that stated, _Ketchum Residence_ in bold letters, was enough to intimidate me. Especially the ferocious looking Luxray statues that sat on each side of the door, or let's not forget the slightly pornographic fountain that was planted right in the middle of our long perfected driveway. I hated that God damn house. When I compared my house to Delia's, mine was merely a museum. The house didn't give off a sense of resplendent. It lacked warmth showing not one welcome sign or mat; no cheerful decorations in the front, but just a house that distinctively defined the resident's to be of wealth.

It's humongous size was completely unnecessary for just the five of us to live in, not to mention the giant pool we had in the back as well as the guest house. Oh, and my mother's semi-maintained flower garden. She had tried for years to actually plant a vegetable garden but it never worked. Nobody in my family were what you would consider outdoorsy. Plus, my mother would most likely end up killing the plants anyway.

I opened the door with my house key, only to find one of the maids already taking off my coat, slinging it across her arm.

"Thanks."

It was Sophia who was the newest addition of the many hired and fired maids my Mother acquired and by the looks of it, she wasn't a keeper in my Mother's eyes. Her timid personality gave that indication away.

"You're mother and father have attired in the living room." She informed me with a forced smile.

I laughed a little to myself before responding. "Then I'd make a run for it while you still can."

Her nose crinkled in confusion, her voice soft and meek. "Pardon?"

"Jayce Ketchum get in here!"

Even with me speaking quietly, my Mother's sensitive ears immediately picked up the door opening as well as our conversation. Now I had to face Salamance. Too bad, there was so princess to save, not to mention I forgot my shield and sword for my own protection.

"Save yourself!"

My harsh whisper was picked up too. "Jayce!"

"Coming!"

Adventuring into the living room I found my Mother turning her head around scowling at me, while my sister's sat on the other sofa across from her. As for my father, well, he was seated comfortably in his chair reading not even bothering to look up at me.

"Are you scarring the maids off again?"

My Mother could only be described in one word. Overbearing. And extremely opinionated. Did I also mention controlling, haughty, stubborn, snobbish, irritable, opinionated oh and my favorite, tyrannical. You could say she had this way of making you feel... uncomfortable. I had grown used to it however, so her imperious disposition seemed to have little to no effect on me. I can only thank God for that. Yet, I could never live up to her high, unrealistic expectation. That part about her always irritated me.

She was the owner of the Viridian Hospital, seeing the establishment had been passed down in her family. Plus, she had some minuet degree in the medical field, which she could not further endure in college, due to her pregnancy with the three of us. When they first got married, my father had to get on his hands and knees to get her to follow the orders of bed rest.

Furthermore, her plain brown coarse hair and her hard brown eyes bared no resemblance to my hair or facial features. She was a fairly fit woman, average height, peach skin, and her attire always consisting of skirts, some designer dress shirt/sweater, earrings, the same hair-do, high heels, and panty-hoes. The woman never wore pants and if they did they were always slacks.

"It's not scarring, it's giving advice." I retorted going to the drink cart, pouring myself a glass of water.

"For heaven's sake where were you today?" My Mother demanded, uneasily. "The girl's came home telling me you disappeared! About gave me a heart attack!"

I grew a cheeky smile in response as I sat down on the sofa across from her.

_Yeah, you seem real worried sitting here slurping your cocktail away._

"Don't worry Mom, that's why you had three kids."

"Jayce please," she groaned impatiently, rolling her eyes, "now where were you? It's unlike you to wander off on a school day. You had your father and I worried sick."

I decided to prove her wrong. "Hey Dad, were you worried about me?"

My Father slightly lifted his head above his paper only revealing his blue eyes. "Hmm? Oh, you were missing?"

I got my midnight black hair and icy blue eyes from Richard Ketchum, but our personalities were like night and day. Unique as we were on our own, we really had little to nothing in common. Opposites to say the least. Dad was always engulfed in the insurance company that he worked for in Viridian, never taking the time to take an interest in what we liked to do, or what we did for that matter. All he ever cared about was: how much money the company was making, when the special edition grass Pokémon stamp collection was coming out, how many more puzzles he needed to complete before he reached a hundred, and that his newspaper was safely delivered every morning before heading off to do God knows what else.

But being submersed in his own little perfect world, did him no good when it came to noticing what was occurring around. The man was extremely entranced in his occupation to the point where he forgot my sister's and my birthday for three years in a row. Honestly, he had to write the damn day down in his daily planner just so he'd remember to pick up a gift or card. And you don't even want to know about how he failed to remember _t__his tenth anniversary_. My Mother about ringed his neck when he arranged for them to stay over at some luxurious hotel in Celadon, but ended up forgetting her at the airport after getting caught up with work.

I shrugged bearing another grin, complimented with a sarcastic comment. "See Dad's not concerned."

"Richard you're not helping," my Mother said sharply, "and it's extremely rude to read in front of others."

"What was that dear?"

Another groan was released from her mouth. "Never mind. I suppose I shouldn't even ask you where you went, considering I probably know the answer."

"You know where I was?"

"I believe so." She answered with a nod, continuing wittily. "Either you were studying or what would be my best guess, is that you took your Pokémon to school and trained afterwards. And you left Vulpix here on purpose so I wouldn't suspect anything. Am I right?"

I then placed my hand over my chest as if it really hurt me, shaking my head sardonically. "My, how far have I come to give you the impression that I, your only son, would be such a deceitful person."

"Then where were you?"

"I was studying actually." I replied, after taking another sip.

"Studying?" Annie finally spoke up, her eyebrows arched. "Zelda and I went back into the school and didn't see you once."

I gave a glance towards Zelda, but her eyes darted away suspiciously. Something was up.

"Well maybe you didn't look hard enough."

"I see this is getting nowhere," My Mother began, becoming irritated, "so at this point I'm letting you off the hook. Just don't do whatever it is you did after school again."

"Study?" I questioned comically. "Okay then I guess I'll fail all my classes and never get a high school diploma and become a locus who mooches off of you and lives in the basement, till the day you both die."

"You know what I meant young man."

"But Mom, he didn't even tell Zelda and I he was going to go study!" Annie shouted, shooting a glare in my direction. "He just didn't show up like he forgot that Prof. Oak was going to show us some water Pokémon he just got in!"

Annie was what I would consider to be a very unhallowed person. Her choices in men were far from desirable and the concept of dressing like a whore every time Mom wasn't looking was an obvious cry for attention. She needed some serious intervention. Not to mention her personality was on the lines of irreverent and sassy. Well, until she hit twenty. Sure I could be satirical, but Annie could be a real bitch when she wanted too. Especially when she had the chance to get under my skin.

Her blonde curly hair made her stand out among the family. It was clearly a recessive gene, that or she was switch at birth. I prayed for that to be the circumstance countless times, but my wish never came true. Besides, her blue eyes were too similar to Zelda's and mine. We all had our father's eyes and his pale skin tone. My Mother was too peachy. Annie, however did get her height. She was shorter than Zelda, and much shorter than me.

"Chad never mentioned that to me."

"Well _he_ did. At least to us."

"Annie don't be nonsensical."

She squinted her eyes at me oddly. Her hand soon lifted, blocking her view of me, turning her head away. "I don't even know what that means, so I'm just going to pretend you didn't say anything remotely insulting."

"And your logic continues to amaze me."

"Besides, I've got some great news." She said putting a smile on, staring at my Mom then Zelda. "I was able to pick through Prof. Oak's acceptance letters on his desk when he wasn't looking, and I saw my name on one of them! And Zelda's too! Can you believe we got chosen?"

"I hope you didn't take it." Was my Mother's only response as she sipped her alcoholic beverage.

"No. He was telling us he just finished picking his top fifteen and they'll be mailed out in a few days. Great isn't it, Mom?"

Again, my Mother was not the kind of person who jumped for joy when Pokémon were ever involved. "For you it is."

"Did you see my name?" I asked Zelda swiftly.

She only pried her mouth open a little by the time Annie had already decided she'd speak on her behalf. "Actually, no. Maybe you're not as great of a trainer as you think you are Jay."

"Ha, ha funny." I responded bitterly. "You talk big for someone who can't control their Lickitung and tell it to stop attacking people with its slobber."

Her mouth soon flew open, her eyebrows narrowing at their crests, but she soon froze gazing at our father strangely. He finally lifted his head looking straight ahead, thinking about something. Something...

"Dad why are you looking at us like that?" She said irked.

"I just remembered something."

"What? Is it about Prof. Oak, his class, something that's relevant to the conversation?"

He blinked a couple of times before speaking. "I didn't turn out my lamp on my desk at work. Hope the light bulb doesn't burn out. I just changed that thing."

A loud sigh rang out of Annie and my Mother's lungs while Zelda remained silent, sipping away at her drink.

As my Dad went back to reading, I fixated on him, muttering, "I think Dad's light bulb burnt out a long time ago."

**X**

Annie eventually simmered down once dinner was on the table, and Mom began ranting about the women in her Daughter's of Kanto club. I had never felt so relieved for school to come that next morning as I did. For once, I had something to look forward too. Delia Parker was one of the few fishes in the sea who I could not take my eyes off of, nor my mind. Speaking of which, I remember an infuriated Chad Oak came to me at lunch demanding to tell him where I had run off too. Guess I was missed.

"Dude, where the heck were you yesterday? My Dad got some Goldeen and he even let me have one! You missed your chance at a new Pokémon."

My eyes peered up at him, closing the book I had just started taking a liking too. "Why is everyone accusing me of knowing your dad brought in water Pokémon?" I said slightly astonished. "I had no idea."

"Oh, I must have forgotten to mention that." He replied, rubbing the back of his head, sweat dropping. Then, his face stiffened. "But seriously, where did you wander off too?"

"Like I'd share that with you."

"Zelda thought you went off with Parker." He explained, leaning himself against the nearby wall, glimpsing out the window. "She said she thought she saw you walking away with her. But since she was speculating, she wasn't gonna to tattle on your folks. Annie thought about doing it though."

"Doesn't surprise me."

"But seriously man, were you with Parker?"

My eyes diverted from his, until a low huff was produced out of my mouth. "Okay so I went off with Delia, but so what? Like you guys would miss me anyway."

"Hey, I'm all for you finding your own personal babe," Chad stated defensively, "but next time tell me about it."

"I will as long as my sisters are out of preferable vision. Delia invited me out of the spur of the moment anyway. I couldn't turn that down. And she's not _my_ babe."

I heard a distinct yet soft snicker come out between his teeth. "She will be in time." He said playfully. "I actually got myself a babe. Annie and I have gone steady now for three weeks. I'm now just waiting for the right time to reel her in for the whole package. You know, to make official and stuff."

His pompous grin and tale of romance, only made my stomach twist.

"Okay first off, thanks for the scary images and secondly, I had no idea my sister had a fetish for you."

"Neither did I!" He bellowed, agreeing with my amazement. "I thought she'd call me grotesque like you and Zelda would! Guess she's into me."

My eyes wandered towards the window, shaking my head. _And she thinks I have bad taste_...

A shadow soon cast against the wall catching my attention, having my head turn to face the luxurious creature I had waited for. A smile pursed from my lips, as Chad exchanged looks between the owner of the shadow and I, giving a mischievous grin.

"Hi Jay." Delia's soft gentle voice was music to my ears until her tone grew stern, shooting a look in Chad's direction. "Delinquent."

"Well hello to ya to Miss Delia Parker," Chad said shifting his body off the wall, approaching her, "haven't exchanged words with you since the eighth grade. Are you coming back for more?"

"Nice try," Delia said swiftly, "but I only date guys who can spell their own name."

This side of her was a new development. I never knew Delia was capable of saying such things. She was beginning to talk like me. Had she always been like that or was it something I did? Then again, it was Chad who she was speaking to after all...

"I can spell my name." He argued, crossing his arms with a smirk.

"And remember to bring a pencil to write with?"

"Oops."

"I thought so."

He sneered. "Jeez you're harsh. Man, you two belong together."

"I saved you a seat."

Delia swung her gaze back over to me, her face expression relaxing. "Thanks."

Soon however, Chad's mouth dropped open in disbelief watching the extraordinary scene unfold. I had feared his reaction would not be as pleasant as I had wished.

"Dude, I sit there and Sean always joins us!"

I looked up at him with agitation, my eyes hardening. "I'm not kicking you out _dude, _Delia and I just wanted to have lunch together."

He gave me a brief pause in return, followed by a simple shrug and the action of pulling out another chair to our desks. "Oh, I see. Well the more the merrier."

Taking a seat and revealing his large quantity of lunch, making himself comfortable, I said baffled, "What are you doing?"

Chad rose his head, blinking. "Having lunch."

"I said _Delia and I, _are having lunch together." I said scowling, as I lowered my voice into a harsh whisper. "Not Abbot, Costello, Delia and I!"

"You think Sean and I are funny?"

"Hardly." I responded flatly. "But to some, yes."

"You know what, this seat is mine and I'm staying!" Chad rebutted, his eyes traveling over at Delia with smirk. "I wanna check out this little romance anyway. Get a sneak preview before all the really good stuff happens."

I remained scowling. "You're disgusting."

"Hey, Sean over here!" Ignoring my remark, Chad waved his arm about in the air calling over to a puzzled Sean, who was holding his lunch sack. "Look who's come to join our little abode."

"Oh," he started, pulling out his chair casually, "you're Delia right?"

"Yeah."

"Sean, nice to make your acquaintance." He replied, holding his hand out.

Delia bared a faint grin. "You too."

Now this was going to be a problem. The last thing I wanted was for Sean and Chad to intervene and scare Delia away in the process! These highly testosterone boys couldn't find their way out of a paper bag if they tried. Chad more so than Sean.

I soon slumped my cheek against my hand, watching the primitives males devour their lunch with content. "At least he can talk to the opposite gender." I grumbled.

Chad stopped chewing for a moment, crumbs flying from his mouth as he spoke outraged, "I can talk to girls too! Just watch me!" Spinning around his chair, he took one big swallow of his food, whistling before shouting, "hey ladies!"

Two girls at a distant joined desks, glanced over at him bemused, giving strange looks. "Huh?"

Adjusting his throat, Chad rose from his seat ever so gracefully. "Stop you're under arrest... for stealing my heart!"

The entire room fell dead silent, having Chad stand their like a complete idiot. The girls he was speaking to simply sweat-dropped.

"What a weirdo." One mumbled, turning around in her seat to enjoy her sushi.

The other one gave a nod, rolling her eyes. "You think he'd do better than that."

Chad remained having a gawked expression, his mouth agape as he slumped back down in his seat. Apparently, he was pretty shocked to find out that those girls found him the least bit witty. Delia and Sean gazed at him, almost taking pity on the fool.

I simply shook my head. "That's the best you could do?"

"What do you want from me in just a couple of seconds?" He finally answered, after a moment of silence. The guy took the rejection as if he had just failed a job interview. "Besides those girls weren't my type! Too conservative."

Slapping my hand against my forehead, Chad went back to eating his meal diligently, the only diligent thing he ever did.

This was sure going to be interesting. Chad, Sean, me, and Delia? It didn't fit. The four of us as a group wasn't what anyone would expect. Was I already starting to drift away from them in a single month? I thought the system of fitting into a different group took at least a few months in the high school world. The again, maybe the four of us would get along just fine. What was there to worry about, right?

**X**

A group of five or six girls stood among the busy hallway with their arms crossed smugly. Their eyes glaring peculiarly at every person who went by, that was not a member of their 'prestigious high school sorority'. Soon however, the sneer that had formed on the face of one of the girls dissipated as her eyes became glued as if they were deceiving her.

"Hey Annie," she started, her tone lurking with bewilderment, "isn't that your brother with Parker over there?"

The leader of the pack turned her head, revealing what she had dreaded from the beginning. Annie's eyebrows seeped deeper into her skin, her lips tightening more and more by the sight of our enjoyment.

"He's so cute!" One of the girls suddenly squealed, followed by a scoff. "I don't understand why he's hanging around her."

Then another one interjected. "Annie, we should totally come over to your house to get to know him!"

"Yeah that sounds like a great idea!"

As they were now developing their new and 'well thought-out' plan, Annie's focus did not break for her friends undivided attention. She continued gazing at us like we were her prey. Her meat. Anger building up inside her, becoming a volcano that was about to erupt any minute, destroying everything in its path. Well, at least anyone who stood in her way.

"Well all be Zelda was right.**"**

At this point, Delia and I were oblivious to our surroundings, only submersed into each others thoughts.

"Are you sure I can borrow this?"

I gave a small shrug. "Sure. You mentioned earlier that you were looking for a book on water types. Thought this might help."

I felt a rush travel through my body as her soft hands skimmed the surface of mine, prying the book out of my grasp.

"That's sweet of you Jay," she responded happily, "thank you! I've tried to evolve my Shelldar for weeks now-"

"Jay!"

The the abrupt holler caught our immediate attention. There stood Annie all puffed with irritation, her hands placed firmly on her hips. Delia exchanged addled glances between the two of us, as I simply formed a frown.

"What do you want?" I questioned sharply.

My sister's shoes stomped loudly against the floor soon tightening her grip on the arm of my jacket, tugging impatiently. "I need to talk to you. Excuse us."

Dragging me away unwilling, I looked back at Delia to find her still dumbfounded. "Huh?"

Now this was going to get ugly. Slamming my body against the wall, Annie stepped in front of me trying to intimidate me, her eyes burning wildly.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" I questioned, infuriated. "You can't just intrude in on a conversation like that!"

"And what the hell is wrong with you?" Annie asked angrily.

"Me? I think you're the one with the problem-"

"Why are you talking to her?" She asked as if I had committed a crime.

I crinkled my nose in response, sneering. "Since when do I answer to you? Why do you care anyway? You never have in the first place."

"Delia Parker is not girlfriend material." Annie explained, taking every word she said literally.

"Who said I was looking for a girlfriend?" I rebutted. "We're just friends."

"Sure your friends now," she went on casually, becoming stern once more, "but in merely a couple of weeks, she'll have you wrapped around her little finger."

"And what makes you an authoritative on Delia?" I questioned, folding my arms.

This was a new one. I was aware that Annie wasn't the friendliest girl on campus, but why attack Delia? I highly doubted they ever exchanged a single word, so why would she have such a strong hatred for the girl? Did something happen in the past that I was unaware of? Was Annie actually trying to warn me? Nah. Couldn't be that.

Annie's eyes then darted away from mine, as if something was truly bothering her. "You don't know her as well as I do." Her face holding a pouted expression.

"Have you ever taken the time to really talk to her?"

"No."

"Well I have."

"Jay you've only known her for like two weeks!" She screeched, slamming her arms against her sides.

"And within those two weeks," I continued plainly, "I've come to realize that she's the most sane person I've ever met."

Then out of the blue, Annie's eyes softened, but only for a moment. I watched her uneasily as she started to shake her head, a small laugh growing from her lungs.

"Wait a minute." She started, catching her breath from laughter. "You _do _have a crush on her!"

"What?" I spat. "No."

"You wanna date her don't you?" Annie continued to tease, wrapping her arms around her stomach from chortling.

"No, like I said she's just a friend." I persisted, overlooking her little laughing fit. "She's a descent person so I wanted to give her a chance. We seem to click really well."

She snorted. "Yeah, I bet in more ways than one."

Now she was just being cruel. One minute she's screaming at me for being friends with an innocent human being, and the next she's mocking my affections!

"Bite me." I snapped.

Annie's cackling ended abruptly, her smirk still remaining. "Ooh so harsh bro." She taunted as she turned on her heels. "Sorry for trying to watch your back."

"I think you're inner rage of jealousy you feel towards her is what motivates your sincere hatred."

Annie then halted, her tone defensive. "You can't read my mind."

"I don't need to because the answer is written all over your face." I provoked in return.

"You're deranged."

"And you're extremely injudicious." I played along.

Pausing, she narrowed her eyes. "I don't even know what that means."

I finally revealed a smile in all of this. "My point proven."

"Go piss up a flag pull."

"Go pull your head out of your ass. You'll be able to finally breathe in the fresh air."

Strutting off with a victory, I rejoined Delia who was lost for words about what exactly was going. Annie on the other hand, was redder than a tomato.

"Sorry about that." I said, tugging her down the hall.

Delia gave a quick glance, finding Annie still standing there all ruffled, her eyebrows lowering. "Is everything okay?" She questioned, muddled.

I gave a short groan. "Just peachy."

"Wait." She demanded stopping in her tracks, my grip loosening on the sleeve of her uniform. "Was it something I did?"

"What? "No," I reassured, "no, it's just Annie and her unneeded opinions."

Delia's eyes closed, followed by a sadden sigh. "I know your sister doesn't like me."

"Delia-"

"It's okay." She continued, shyly. "Our friendship could just be bringing too much of strain on you. I would prefer to not deal with Annie anyway."

"No it's not okay."

I certainly not going to let Annie destroy what bond Delia and I had formed in such a short amount of time. Delia Parker was far from trouble, and the thought of losing what could have possibly be my first real true friend to some claim my envious sister made, would be devastating.

"I suppose you should know why Annie doesn't like me." Delia stated, with another sigh.

Finally, an answer! "Filling me in might do some good in this situation."

"Two summers ago I beat her in the local beauty pageant." She carried on as we started to walk once more. "I'm sure you remember her reaction, right?"

"Well I didn't go to the competition," I responded, placing my hands in my coat pocket, "but I do recall her coming home complaining for nearly a week. But that's so minor and immature Delia. It was a competition. What was she thinking, she'd get the title or something? Losing at one of those pageants is only natural."

"I know, but the last thing I want is to make enemies." Delia insisted worried, cuddling the book up to her chin, her arms wrapped around it. "I would just feel better to stay clear of Annie."

"Listen I won't let her say or do anything hurtful to you." I said truthfully. "I've gotten enough lip from her to last a lifetime. Believe me, she may talk that way, but she won't take action. Her barks worse than her bite."

Her eyebrows were still lowered. "If you say so."

"Hey, I wouldn't lie to you." I replied, genuinely. "You're not the type of person to pass-up as a friend."

That seemed to reawaken the peppy Delia I knew.

Her brown eyes soon sparkled, her cheeks bearing color again. "And you're too perfect to be real." She said sweetly, batting her eyelashes modestly.

I rubbed the back of my head, startled by her comment. "Trust me I have faults."

"Not from this angle..." She murmured and by the sight of my flushed face, it dawned on her as to what she just said. Her face was now turning pink, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact with me. "Um, thank you again for lending me your book and well, having my back."

"It's nothing really." I replied, trying to stay composed. "So, I guess I'll be heading off to class."

"Right." She answered quickly, still clinging on the book. "I'll see you later."

**X**

For once, I was actually revealed to return home and escape the ludicrous world of high school. I never did partake nor found pleasure in the activity of drama, and was not going to start now. I wanted Annie to stay off of my turf and for things to persist with Delia. Besides, if she did have a serious problem with Delia that was for her to resolve on her own. I was not on board with joining in.

Entering into the house, I was greeted by the only maid in the house who managed to keep her position for over fifteen years. Gertrude was around my grandmother's age, and had practically been our nanny since birth. Since my Mother was attending college, she barely had any time to spare for her triplets, so she hired Gertrude, who was an experienced care giver and already had children who left the nest. I remember she was the person who taught me now to read my first book. _The Tale of Peter Buneary. _Most kids at that age were learning how to utter three words, so that would explain a lot on my behalf. I bet most of the people in my graduating class never heard of that book anyway.

Smiling at her I tore off my jacket, swinging it over my arm. "Hey Gertrude, what happened to Sophia?" I questioned curiously, as she shut the door behind us. "Fired already?"

"Not yet." She answered softly, glancing behind us. "Your mother is giving her a lesson on folding napkins."

I snorted, fearing my Mom's faint hollering in the dining room. "Figures."

"Here," Gertrude started quickly, shoving an unopened envelope in my hands. "I managed to sneak this out of your parent's reach. It might be what you have waited for."

A large grin grew from my lips. It was the letter I had waited for for what felt like forever! It was the answer to my prayers! A letter from Prof. Oak. It was a larger envelope, which brought sense of comfort, to my restless mind. I had to get accepted. This was something I had wanted to be a part of my entire life! Learning from Prof. Oak and having the chance to sharpen my skills as a trainer would be a complete blessing in my eyes.

My eyes eventually became unglued to the letter resting in my hands, gazing back up at our competent maid. "Thanks Gertrude." I said sincerely. "I'll let you know, what it says."

She nodded, trying to make the scene not seem suspicious if my Mother darted around the corner. "Sure."

I then carefully fast-walked up the stairs, peaking behind my shoulder several times insecurely.

"How many times do I have to go over this?" I heard my Mom say impatiently. "You fold the left edge of the napkin first..."

Once I made it up the stairs unnoticed, I shut my creaky bedroom door as quietly as possible, followed by taking a deep breath. This was it. The moment I had anxiously wanted to occur. The final truth.

From the sound of ripping of the paper, Vulpix rose her head off my bed looking at me with curiosity. My heart was racing, my breaths short and quick. Then as I unfolded the letter open with my sweaty shaky hands, I gave a laugh of relief and joy by the sight of the words printed ever so neatly on the paper.

"Hey there girl," I started, petting her back gently, "we got accepted." I carried on gleefully. "We finally have our chance."

**X**

Saturday morning came faster than I anticipated. Last night, was one of the most memorable evenings of my life and one of my biggest accomplishments as well. I felt eligible enough to make such a short and commendable list of students, even though the professor only collected letter from Pallet and Viridian, it still meant something to me.

That morning I was vibrant as ever, preparing myself to be ready to leave the house at precisely eight-thirty to make it to class on time. I headed towards my bathroom and took a small wash-cloth covered in cold water. I took the damp towel and began to rub the water in my face to wake me up. I felt refreshed for once, excitement soaring though my body. After that, I did all the over traditional rituals of cleaning, followed by getting dressed. Usually I just threw on a black or blue t-shirt with a pair of skinny jeans, but this time I was actually able to wear my training clothes. Gazing at myself in the mirror, seeing my pokebelt strapped around my wait loosely, made me feel confident. I was someone. And I was going to do whatever possible to make my Pokémon career advance.

**X**

I arrived at the lab with five minutes to spare, discovering Sean and Chad were already seated comfortably chatting away. It appeared everyone came on time, lively as ever. Delia however, was nowhere to be found.

"Hey I knew you'd make it!" Chad said, welcoming me over to their seats. He then turned to Sean with his hand out, bearing an even larger grin. "Now you owe me five bucks."

I narrowed my eyebrows as I took my backpack off my shoulder, sitting in an empty desk. "You two were betting whether I'd be accepted or not?"

"Oh, no." Chad replied, correcting me. "We were betting if you'd make to class on time."

I snorted. "Comforting to know." Aimlessly looking throughout the room once more, I felt my pulse rise with concern. "Have you guys seen Delia?"

"Not yet." Chad replied, placing his feet up on his desk, his hands clasped behind his head. "Maybe she didn't get accepted."

"That," Sean added jokingly, "or she's notorious for being late like Jay."

"I'm surprised they didn't walk in late together." Chad chimed in, mocking. "_Holding hands_."

"You two are hilarious." I said, adjusting my Pokémon League Cap. "You should do stand-up comedy."

"Hey, you did call us Abbot and Costello." Chad replied, pointing at me. But then, his eyes traveled over to the door way stunned. Lo and behold, Delia arrived in the nick of time, appearing slightly tired as if she had to run all the where to the lab just to snag a seat. "Well would ya look at that," he continued, "there's the cow herderess herself."

I glanced behind my shoulder giving a small wave, smiling as she did the same.

It would seem she came just in time, for Prof. Oak entered into the room adjuring to his desk, which resided in the front.

"Everyone, will you please find a seat!" He announced. "Class is about to start."

Delia sat a couple rows away from me, for all the other seats had been taken. I continued smiling back at her as the professor carried on.

"Good morning to you all!" He said warmly, having the students quiet down gradually. "I can see I have a lively group which makes this class all the more worthwhile! You all know me, but I suppose I should introduce myself anyhow. I am your instructor Professor Oak and I will be teaching you, all sorts of information on the world of Pokémon. Over here is my leading assistant Spencer Hale," Oak gestured, "he is a graduated college student from Johto and has had the privilege to study with me in my lab. He will also be teaching lessons as well as give demonstrations..."

Sean then turned around in his seat, whispering, "Chad you never mentioned this guy was living with you."

Chad lifted his head, now paying attention to his father. "Oh, yeah I forgot. Spencer's a pretty cool dude once you get to know him." He explained. "He's more smarter than me, so it's hard for us to talk about things sometimes. All he thinks about are Pokémon DNA patterns and legendary tales. He doesn't get women at all-"

"Don't you mean smarter?" I interrupted. Hearing his bad grammar caught my attention. "Not _more_ smarter?"

"You guys ask about Spencer and all you do is correct my grammar?" He hissed in return.

"Now there is much to go over in the syllabus in one day, so I suggest reading it through during your spare time." Prof. Oak went on rambling. "Believe me, it's much more interesting when we dig in and start, rather than reading guidelines and information. All you need to bring are your Pokémon. I have supplied potions and such for you all, as well as notebooks to use during lectures. So now that's all said and done, let's begin with roll-call. Now, lets see... Is Kailey here?"

As the professor started to take attendance Chad twirled around to look at me, starting up another conversation.

"You wanna know something?" He asked excitedly.

"No."

"My Dad hasn't stopped talking about you since you put in your application for the class." He responded, seriously. "Says you've got an impressive line of Pokémon. The best yet, actually."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

"Jayce?"

My head shot up to find the professor looking about, trying to locate me.

I gulped nervously. "Uh, here."

"Ah!" He grinned, as he spotted my raised arm in the air. "Glad to you see you could make it."

Chad however, looked back at his father in a flash, shooting a glare. "Hey, you didn't even call out my name!"

Prof. Oak gave a sigh, tucking his clipboard underneath his arm. "Chad, I think I know if my son is in the room or not. Besides, you were the only one I could hear talking while I was explaining the instructions. I'm not oblivious."

Chad snorted in response, folding his arms into his chest. "That's a first."

"Why are you so hard on your old man?" Sean questioned, his eyebrows raising. "He's a prodigy!"

"Not as a dad."

Our heads spun around one more time, finally relieved to start class off outside, instead of listening to formal instructions.

"Now," Prof. Oak began, putting his arms behind his back, "why don't we all head outside and share our Pokémon. Shall we?"

**X**

I was in a complete stupor seeing all the Pokémon that emerged from their poke balls. Even with only fifteen kids in class, everyone had an extraordinary collection of Pokémon. It was eye-opening to see various kinds right in front of my eyes, that I had not seen before, besides on T.V. All types and sizes resided in Prof. Oak's pasture, and most seemed to be well taken care of trained. Well, most that is.

"Dude, control your Rydon!"

"I can't it won't listen! I just caught it only a week ago!"

The distribution happened nearly halfway into the greet and meet, thanks to an ill-tempered Ryhorn. The Pokémon felt threatened by another trainer's Machoke, having it stomp repeatedly, shaking the ground uncontrollably. Everyone backed up from the Pokémon in fright, expect for the owner, who tried his hardest to get the Pokémon to relax.

As I watched the seen unfold, I heard my name being called out faintly. "Uh, Jayce!" I glanced about to discover Prof. Oak, gesturing me over with his hand. "Jayce, would you mind helping out your classmate?"

I came to his side, staring at him amazed. "Me? I've never had a Rhyhorn before!"

"Oh, that doesn't matter." He responded bluntly. "I think your energy will help relax it. Just continue to stay clam. Now, go on."

I couldn't believe he was seriously asking me to go come down a newly caught Rhyhorn. For a second, I thought the man was loosing his mind, but as I started to approach the Pokémon, holding up my hand in a gentle way the thundering beast seemed to end its tirade, staring at me with its dark eyes. I almost fainted when our faces were touching, my breaths slowing down.

Everyone watched with their mouths agape, leaving them all astonished. "See class!" Prof. Oak suddenly said proudly. "Jayce handled the situation very well! That's an example to follow, good work!"

As I turned to face my mentor, he placed a hand on my shoulder. I was still awfully shaky, especially since I could feel the Pokemon's breath on my neck.

"Young man," he started, with admiration, "you are stupendous! I believe you will do wonders in life. In fact, you might even become a Pokémon Master!"

All the other students remained standing back, watching me being praised. However, I felt a mix of sincere applause and jealously shining through their eyes. I was more than thrilled to receive such praise from Prof. Oak, but I did not want to come off as so arrogant fool. I had no idea at the time, that I even had that kind of skill in me. I was delighted, and yet I held my happiness back.

"Wow, Jay's got skill." Sean commented, leaning to Chad's ear. "How come you never told me he was an above average trainer?"

He shrugged. "I didn't know he was that great either. I'm surprised as you are. And my Dad flaunting him all over the place like he's some prodigy, is really starting to creep me out."

After that, everyone went back to showing off their Pokémon skills, I however remained off to the sidelines not wanting anymore attention, negative or positive.

But then, I felt a rough grasp clap onto my shoulder. "Hey, you did great man!" Chad exclaimed. "Way to make a good first impression! Maybe if my Dad see's that were friends, he'll get off my back about the sexy women posters I have in my room."

"Thanks." I responded, bearing a half grin. "But next time, keep your comments to yourself."

**X**

By two o'clock, class was over. The entire class rushed out of the lab with excitement embracing the bright sun once more, but for Delia and I, we took our time to gather our things. I had pondered over the concept of asking Delia if she had some time to spare over the weekend, and since the room was empty, I felt more confident in asking her.

Reaching to touch her arm I accidentally spooked her in process, having her notebook and papers splatter right on the floor, scattering everywhere. I immediately dove to the floor, picking up every paper I could reach, apologizing several times.

"I'm sorry about startling you."

"No, it's all right." She told me, bending down to clean up the mess too.

As we lifted our heads though, our eyes met, our noses almost touching. We then stood up slowly still gazing into each others eyes. Her chest moving up and down slowly like the rolling grassy plains.

_Now this is my chance to ask her to do something with me. But what? I know! We could go for a walk! Yeah, a walk. Nothing to personal at all about a walk..._

I breathed in, conjuring up the courage to ask, "would you like to go for a walk tomorrow?"

Delia's eyebrows arched, her papers clinging to her chest. "Together?"

"Yes."

"Alone?"

I paused, giving her an odd look. "If our Pokémon count than yes."

She smiled, her face muscles relaxing. "I'd like that."

"Well, okay." I said, still feeling a little anxious. "Then I guess I'll meet you at your house, say around nine?"

"Yeah." She replied, nodding. "That's fine. I'm a morning person myself anyway."

Suddenly, the sound of the professor's footsteps startled the both of us.

"Ah, did you two need something?"

"Oh no professor," Delia replied quickly, taking the other papers from my arms. "Jay was just helping me pick up my things."

"I see," he answered, observing, "well, you two have a good afternoon."

"We will thank you." I said, having us exit the lab in a hurry.

Going our separate ways, Prof. Oak stood at his door step watching us carefully as he stroked his chin with wonder.

_Never thought they'd take a liking to each other so quickly. But then again..._

**X**

"Can I look now?"

Delia's eagerness and giggles were persistent as my hands remained covering her eyes. I had a surprise in store for her towards the end of our walk and wanted it to be the cherry on top. Something she'd always remember.

"Not yet." I said playfully, hoping she wasn't trying to peak through my fingers.

"C'mon Jay," she insisted, wobbling about as I led her, "where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise." I cooed.

Delia chuckled again. "A good surprise?"

"If you mean not involving school or my parents-"

"Jay!"

"Yes, it's a good surprise. Now, open your eyes."

As I released my hands from her soft face, her eyes brightened up immediately, her mouth open forming a grin, stumbling about the area.

"What is this place?" Delia asked, as the sun light shining through the tree limbs embraced her glowing face.

I had led her down a trail that emerged into a forest. We raced through the woods as if we didn't have a care in the world, happy to be alive. Though as the branches began to get thicker, that's when I covered her eyes. The special spot I had long to show her, was coming closer than I had thought. So when we reached the location, I revealed a secluded area with trees surrounding a small pond.

"When I was younger I used to bring my Pokémon down here and train with them." I elucidated. "Sometimes, I would read or clear my head to escape my parents too. It was the only place where I could have some sanity. A sanctuary I suppose. So, if you need a place to think or just relax... You can come here."

Delia was still gawked by the natural beauty surrounding us, turning to me with bliss. "It's absolutely beautiful down here. Where is it exactly?"

"A little past my parent's house." I answered, leaning against a tree."When we head out, I'll show you the trail so you know how to get here."

"For as simple as this is," she said, her tone uplifting, "it is the best surprise I have ever had."

I looked at her incredulously. "Seriously?"

"_Seriously_. I love it! And now you know one more thing about me."

"And what is that?"

"That I love nature." She stated, picking one of the wildflowers that grew at the edge of the pond. "That I _love_ everything that is green and comes from the earth. Really Jay, you've made a good impression of yourself."

I soon felt my cheeks heat up. "I wasn't trying."

"That's what makes you so... unique."

The rest of that afternoon we laid on the grass, letting our Pokémon have a little free time. Our bodies laid next to each other, our fingertips touching each other lightly. It felt amazing to have some peace and quiet. The trickling of the water residing in the pond, the Pokemon's happy chattering, and Delia's pleasant voice made me feel so soothed.

"You really aren't allowed to be free are you?" Delia said, playing with a blade of grass.

I sighed. "Hardly, if you can define hiding your rock posters and Cd's under your floor boards as being free."

"I didn't know your parents were so strict." She continued, tossing the grass to the side.

I shrugged. "Yeah well, when you live with the Ketchum's you follow the Ketchum's rules. Don't worry about me though, I'm going to call my own shots."

"Being defiant will do you know good, Jay."

"I said nothing about being defiant. I mean when I'm on my own, free at last, I'll do things differently. Explore a little."

"What kind of exploring?" She inquired, turning over on her side, her head resting on her hand.

"See the world I suppose." I answered, gazing up at the branches. "I always wanted to earn badges and compete in a league and..."

"Go on."

"No," I mumbled uncomfortably, "it's stupid."

"No, it's not." Delia replied firmly, rising from her spot. "Your passionate about Pokémon and the way you handled that Rhydon in class was spectacular! You've got a gift Jay."

"Thanks."

There was an awkward silence that fell upon the forest. Opening up to Delia like this made me realize how personable I could be with her. How much we had in common and how much we understood each other. Sure we came from different worlds, but the more I spoke to her, the more I wanted to spend every waking moment with her. Delia was everything I had looked for in a friend. And I think, she felt the same way too.

I too rose from my grassy bed, suddenly having the urge to speak. I um- I..."

"Yes?"

I panicked. "I think you're a great trainer too."

_Dammit, like she doesn't know that already! C'mon just say it, say it!"_

"Thank you."

The light piercing through the branches was starting to dim, having Delia realize how late it was getting.

"I better head back." She stated, rising to her knees. "I promised my Mom, I'd be back shortly to help her."

"Okay, that's fine." I responded, stretching as I stood up. "We'll see each other later."

"Kay." Though as she started to walk away, Delia froze, glancing back at me. "Uh- Jay?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for bring me here. It was sweet of you."

And that moment I realized what was going on inside that thick skull of mine. I was in love. Love. _Real love_. Not like the cliché love teenagers face, when needing a date to some dance or festival. This was real. It was a feeling I had never faced before. Tender, comforting, gentle, sensational in all the right ways. It just felt right. Delia was right. She was what I had missed my entire life and now here she was in the flesh, angelic as can be.

I couldn't help, but be in haze. She was unlike any other creature who stood upon this earth. Her warm eyes, her inviting lips, her soft skin, and her lush hair about made my knees quiver. Delia Parker was my other half and I never wanted that moment of us standing there, among the trees and Pokémon, to ever be taken away._ Ever._

**X**

_**Preview:**  
_

Zelda: "In the next chapter of the Life and Times of Jayce Ketchum, joining clubs for extra curricular activities is highly encouraged."

Delia: "Chad doesn't seem to care about that, so Jay and Sean go searching anyway."

Zelda: "But then, Jay falls prey to a terrible accident forcing him to miss school!"

Delia: "So Chad and I pay him a little visit. I sure hope he gets better! Next Time: Unexpected Occurrences!"

Zelda: "Read it so you won't miss a thing."


End file.
